After farrowing, the newborn pigs must go through the following operations:
1. The eight needle teeth must be clipped, one on each side of the upper and lower jaws. This must be done soon after birth to reduce potential damage to the sow's udder. This must also be done skilfully without forcibly twisting and pulling the teeth. Otherwise, the gums and or tongue may be injured.
2. The tail must be removed up to about one-half inch from its base. This prevents tail biting, which can occur when the pigs become older. Tail biting will affect the conversion rate or even cause death.
3. The ears must be notched. In order to facilitate management of pigs and to improve the species, the ears of all pigs, commercial or breeder, are notched soon after birth for litter identification and follow-up management. It is important that the positions of the notches on four sides of the left and right ears must be correct. Otherwise, the pigs cannot be correctly identified.
4. Iron preparations, 2 CC, must be administered by the time the pigs are four days old.
In hog farm management, it is better to finish the above mentioned operations carefully at one time, so as to reduce the amount of stress on the pigs.
At present, these operations are usually performed on a hog farm by one person while another person assist in holding the pig. If no one assists in holding the pig, the operation may take more time and effort and can only be carried out by a skilled operator only. For example, when clipping the needle teeth, the operator or worker must carry the newborn pig in this arm, open the upper and lower jaws of the pig with the thumb and index finger of his left hand, hold its forelimbs with his other fingers, and clip its needle teeth with a pair of clippers in his right hand. Thereafter, the operator must invert the pig, hold its hindlimbs and the tail of the pig with his fingers, and remove the tail with the clippers.
A skilled operator may hold the pig by its jaws with his left hand, not in his arm, and let the pig hang in the air, while his thumb and index finger force open the pig's jaws. However, this is laborious and puts the pig under stress resulting in that the pig screams. After the needle teeth are clipped, the operator must then invert the pig and remove the tail, also in a laborious manner. In doing so, the worker must be skilful and careful. Otherwise, the needle teeth could be twisted or pulled, resulting in the gums being injured.
Ear notching is usually carried out by two persons because the positioning of notches must be accurate.
Some hog farms are unwilling to take the trouble of having a person cut notches while being careful to notch the ears accurately. Such notches are latter useless for litter identification.
Some hog farm owners train their workers, so that only one person cuts ear notches. In such a one man operation, a person holds the pig by the ear with one hand, while the pig screams and hangs in the air with its whole body supported by its tender ear. The person first holds the pig by its left ear, while cutting notches in the left ear. Then, the person holds the right ear and cuts notches in the right ear. This operation is laborious and the time taken is no less than that when two persons are used. Also, the scream of the pig under stress often makes the operator feel nervous.
In some other hog farms, the operator holds the pig by the ear with his left hand and by the body with his legs to reduce the stress on the pig of hanging in the air. However, this increases the danger of injuring the navel cord of the new born pig.
In view of the above mentioned disadvantages, the inventor developed the present invention to save time and labor. The experiments on the inventor's own hog farm have shown that a pig can be held on the holder of the present invention in two seconds, and there is no need for the operator to invert the pig and change hold of the pig's ear. The present invention not only saves labor, but also reduce the pig's stress. The present invention is so easy to operate that an unskilled person can perform the above mentioned operations.
A larger pig holder of the present invention can be used for administering drugs to the pigs in the nursery unit in order to prevent the danger of cough, because of a temporary blockage of the nasal passage. This temporary blockage often happens when administering drugs by a one-man operation.
A main object of this invention is to provide a pig holder comprising a U-shaped support with two rods and two tracks, all of which have screw holes and are fitted together in such a way that the height of the support can be adjusted as required when in operation.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pig holder in which the U-shaped support has a ring with a rubber band (or elastic band) on one side and front and rear buckles on the other side. This enables holding of newborn pigs of different sizes.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a pig holder having a cross bar with curved projections on the bottom side and a stand with corresponding notches on the top, so that the pig on the support can be turned about, as required in operation. This avoids abnormal turning and ensures safety of the pig, while providing convenience of work.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a pig holder which comprises a U-shaped support having a ring, a rubber band or elastic band, and a front buckle and rear buckle, two support rods extending from the U-shaped support, two sets of stays, and a II base frame which are welded together to form a simple holder.